Long drive patch for tire puncture

Abstract

An external puncture sealing patch for a vehicle tire is provided. The patch comprises a thin spiked pad made of flexible base and a number of sharp pins partially implanted in the base in a radial arrangement around a central void protruding vertically downward from the bottom surface of the base for penetratively engaging a depth of the tire about its puncture upon depression onto the top surface of the base. A thick coat of an elastomeric sealant is added to the spiked side of the patch for sealingly adhering the spiked pad to the tire as the sealant fills any irregular clearances between the spiked pad and tire to reinforce the attachment thereof. In order to keep the patch effective for an extended period of time, the patch is also provided in a contained form whereby the patch in a dual-purpose container can be quickly deployed at the time of need for application to a tire puncture in a safe and comfortable manner.

1. An external puncture-sealing patch for a vehicle tire comprising:
 a base that is thin and flexible for attachment to the exterior of the tire, the base having a top surface and a bottom surface; 
 a number of sharp pins partially implanted in the base in a radial arrangement around a central void protruding vertically downward from the bottom surface of the base to form a large spiked pad for penetratively engaging a depth of the tire about its puncture upon depression onto the top surface of the base; and 
 a thick coat of an elastomeric sealant on the bottom surface of the base for sealingly adhering the spiked pad to the tire as the sealant fills any irregular clearances between the spiked pad and tire to reinforce the attachment thereof, wherein the base has two layers bonded together, the respective layers having a number of concentric annular grooves facing inwardly of the base in an opposing manner for firmly holding the implanted pins by an extra amount of glue that fills the grooves and the rest of the opposing layers. 
 
     
     
       2. A contained patch for an external application to a puncture of a vehicle tire comprising:
 a base that is thin and flexible for attachment to the exterior of the tire, the base having a top surface and a bottom surface; 
 a number of sharp pins partially implanted in the base in a radial arrangement around a central void protruding vertically downward from the bottom surface of the base to form a large spiked pad for penetratively engaging a depth of the tire about its puncture upon depression onto the top surface of the base; 
 a thick coat of an elastomeric sealant on the bottom surface of the base for sealingly adhering the spiked pad to the tire as the sealant fills any irregular clearances between the spiked pad and tire to reinforce the attachment thereof; and 
 a plunger for protectively containing the spiked pad before its application, the plunger having a shell extending generally vertically and centrally opened to receive the spiked pad, a pusher partially received in the shell so that it normally extends above the shell and abuts at least partial areas of the top surface of the base of the patch where the pins are implanted, an elongated top lid to the shell for removably capping the pusher until it acts on the spiked pad during application, and a bottom closure removably capped on the shell from below, whereby an operator may hold the spiked pad by the plunger in one hand with the top lid and bottom closure removed to press the pusher with the thumb of the same hand or with another hand along a straight path onto the patch centrally aligned to the tire puncture to seal the same. 
 
     
     
       3. The contained patch of  claim 2 , wherein the plunger is made of plastic and is reusable to contain a new supply of spiked pad. 
     
     
       4. The contained patch of  claim 2 , wherein the base is molded of a molten rubber material similar to the tire with the pins partially immersed in the molten material to finish the spiked pad in a single step. 
     
     
       5. The contained patch of  claim 2 , wherein the pins are metal thumbtacks. 
     
     
       6. The contained patch of  claim 2 , wherein the pins comprise a plurality of sharp elements of metal each having dual prongs and a flattened head connecting the two prongs, the flattened head providing an enlarged area for a stronger attachment to the base. 
     
     
       7. The contained patch of  claim 2 , wherein the base has two identical layers bonded together, the respective layers having a number of concentric annular grooves facing inwardly of the base in an opposing manner for firmly holding the implanted pins by an extra amount of glue that fills the grooves and the rest of the opposing layers. 
     
     
       8. The contained patch of  claim 2 , wherein the base has two flat layers bonded together by thick glue, through which the implanted pins penetrating one of the two layers while the other layer provides an enlarged press surface for manual or mechanical depression onto the tire.